A Flame in the Darkness
by Enchanted Twilight
Summary: Legolas is betrayed by someone he loved. Will his body, heart and soul survive unscathed? Note: This is Heart of Darkness retitled
1. Pain and Memories

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A Flame in the Darkness

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters besides Kestryn, so don't sue.

Notes: Everything that's italicized is in 1st person POV and everything else is objective. I hope I didn't overdo the 1st person stuff… 

**__**

Part I: Pain and Memories

The pain tears at my soul and ravages my heart. I have withstood it for months now, but know not if I can withstand much more before I descend into darkness.

***

Legolas whimpered as the whip tore into his flesh, as red trails of blood streamed from countless wounds and strips of flesh fell away. The whip tore in again and again, as his captor laughed and mocked him for his weakness. "You can only resist for so long, foolish Elf, before you submit to me and your whimpers of pain become screams for mercy," he hissed into his ear.

As he stood up to admire his handiwork, Legolas stared up at his captor through swollen eyelids. He was undeniably handsome, with a fine figure, ebony-black hair, delicately pointed ears, and deep black eyes. He had stared at this figure every day for several months now, as he was whipped and abused, brought to the brink of death and brought back again. 

Legolas knew that he wanted him to join him, but he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of corrupting another soul. Despite his resolve, he was once again tempted to give in and end this suffering as the whip tore into him again. This would go on every day, he knew; every day bringing a different torture, a different type of pain. 

He whimpered again as the whip tore in. His back was now criss-crossed with bright red wounds, seeping ruby blood all over the table. This was nothing compared to what was to come, though. He heard the hiss of the fire as the rods warmed up….

He let out an ear-piercing scream as the red-hot rod touched the raw wounds on his back. He felt the blood bubble and boil, and felt – and heard – the crackle of his mutilated flesh burn and sizzle as the flow of blood slowed to a trickle, then stopped. All through this, his captor laughed at him and mocked him, whispering seductive promises of power beyond his greatest imagining, if he would only join him. Eventually, when Legolas had no more voice to scream with, he tired of torturing the now almost unconscious Elf and left Legolas, chaining him to the wall by his wrists first.

The steel bonds cut deeply into his wrists, but he hardly noticed the pain as he descended into unconsciousness.

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She runs through the forest, always keeping ahead of me, her laughter twinkling like a cascading brook. "Catch me if you can," she says as she turns around to smile mischeviously, and her beautiful hair, as black as polished onyx glints in the sun. I finally catch up to her, tackle her, and pull her down to the soft grass. As I stare into her mysterious turquoise eyes, so seemingly endless and deep, I realize how much I love her.

Legolas winced as the memories came unbidden to mind. He had loved her, he still did, but he couldn't; she had betrayed him; she had destroyed his life, and now his soul was being destroyed too.

**__**

A tear rolled down Kestryn's cheek as she heard the prisoner scream, but she brushed it away angrily; she couldn't afford to be weak, not when she and her brother were this close to ruling all of Middle Earth…

Despite herself, she still found herself remembering the joy she had experienced briefly with him, before she had betrayed him.

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I look into his sea-blue eyes, and he looks into my turquoise orbs. He looks so fragile and innocent, yet also weary of the world. He moves with a gracefulness that is wonderful to behold as we spar. Our swords meet many times, the parries becoming a whirlwind of slashing blades. For the first time in my long life, I have met my equal, one who can match my fighting prowess. He eventually stumbles on a rock, and as his arms fly wide I whip my blades in to rest barely an inch from his neck.

"You did that on purpose!" I accuse, knowing that a warrior of his skill wouldn't simply stumble like that. 

"I did?" he asks, feigning innocence, before bursting into laughter at the sight of my enraged glare.

The laughter is contagious, and soon I drop my swords on the ground, collapse on him and start laughing too. It feels good; it has been a long time since I have let down the wall I built around myself and just let loose and laughed. I stop myself though, as I remember what I must ultimately do; I cannot get too close to him for both his sake and mine. I push myself off him as he looks up with a puzzled and hurt look.

"I have to go," I tell him as I run off into the woods. I keep running for miles, cursing myself for letting my guard down and for getting too close to him…

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I kiss him passionately on the lips as he gently caresses me. I run my fingers through his long, golden hair as he moans in pleasure at the feeling of my leg between his. He runs his tongue down my body as I swoon in ecstasy. I gaze deeply into his blue eyes, so beautiful and full of life, as I realize that I love him more than I've ever loved anyone. He is the other half of my soul.

"I love you," he moans as he playfully runs his tongue over me.

"I love you too," I reply, and I gently caress him.

I run my mouth over his body, gently nipping here and there, loving the feel of his soft, warm flesh beneath my tongue and between my teeth, savoring his sweet, earthly taste. He enters me then, and I scream as our love is fully consummated, and I am torn between ecstasy and pain.

She sighed as she remembered that night of passion, the night of bittersweet emotional and physical ecstacy. That had made her question her deepest loyalties, and made her realize that she had fallen in love with someone she couldn't fall in love with; she had fallen in love with the very person she would have to betray.


	2. Betrayal

Note: In case you're wondering, I wrote the stuff that happened in the past in present tense because I write all the characters' thoughts in present tense, and I tried writing it in past tense, but it didn't work as well. Sorry if reading most of this chapter in italics is annoying! I did it to help set the tone (I just hope it works!).

**__**

Part II: Betrayal

I shouldn't have fallen in love with him… I knew what I had to do, yet I was eventually caught in my own trap; I seduced him, yet I was seduced too.

***

*many years ago*

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"I want him," my brother declares as he paces around the room.

I shake my head and try my best to supress a snicker as he glares stonily at me. "What do you want with a pampered Elven prince?" I ask, smirking.

"He is the most beautiful creature I have ever set my eyes on, and I think he would make a fine General. I can tell that he is born to command."

"There's no way he would ever join you," I point out. "He's an Elf, a prince at that. How in the world do you think you could ever tempt him?"

"Oh, but that's part of the fun," he replies, a mischevious grin in his eyes. "I've been wanting a challenge for some time now, and I think he will make a fine commander and lover. However, I can't do it alone." He looks pleadingly at me. "I need your help, dear Kestryn. I need you to bring the Elf prince to me."

"Why can't you do it yourself?" I inquire, not too sure how I'm supposed to bring an Elf to Mordor.

"Because I'm no good at playing sweet and innocent, and I need to stay here and prepare for the upcoming war," he points out. 

"And you expect me to waste my valuable time getting you a new plaything?" I retort.

"Yes I do, my dear. That's an order. Besides, we might find out some valuable information from him, information that might help us achieve rule over all of Middle Earth," he runs his fingers gently through my hair and adds "and I know how much you would love to be Queen."

I smile at the thought and leave to prepare as my brother, Sauron, wishes me luck.

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*a few months ago*

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I wish he had stayed away, but he doesn't understand why I left him; he thinks I left him because of him. What he doesn't know is that I left him because of me, because I didn't – and still don't – want to betray him. I love him, but I also crave power, and my only path to power lies through his destruction.

If only he had not come to join the Fellowship! If he had not joined the Fellowship, I could have simply told Sauron that I couldn't seduce him , but this changes everything. Before, it was simply a matter of loyalty. Now it is a matter of loyalty, and standing up for everything I've worked for; the Fellowship, including him, must all die.

I snap out of my reverie as I realize that everyone's asleep. I almost feel like some force is compelling me to move as I leave the camp and set out to find the group of Orcs hidden in the forest. "I am not actually betraying them myself", I tell myself. "I am merely helping someone sneak up on them unawares." Those thoughts do little to comfort me.

I find the orcs and lead them to the still sleeping Fellowship. They wake up at the Orcs' approach, but it is too late, for they are mostly unarmed and caught unawares. The four Hobbits, Ring bearer included, are slaughtered instantly, their blood forming a great red pool on the ground. I stand impassively as the Dwarf fights valiantly for several moments, pummeling many orcs with his bare fists. Eventually, though, he is overwhelmed and his head joins the Hobbits'. The two humans don't fare much better, and the ground is covered in a vast pool of blood.

Legolas, however, does considerably better. He manages to get his blades in hand and kills many orcs. He pauses to gaze at me for a moment, and I catch the puzzlement in his face transforming into horror as he realizes what I have done. That moment of distraction is enough for a blade to slip past his guard, and a deep red line is drawn across his breast. He pales considerably after a few minutes, and eventually he is overpowered. As the orcs pummel him into unconsciousness he doesn't take his eyes of me; his eyes are so full of hurt and anger that I flinch despite my attempt at maintaining an impassive façade. 

_I have not seen him since that dark day; I cannot face him after what I did, for if I faced him, I would have to face my own demons and question the price of my quest for power. That cannot happen at any cost._

***

She awoke from her reverie with a start. That hadn't been the first time that she had relived memories instead of escaping into the world of restful and fulfilling dreams. She sighed in frustration and ran her fingers through her hair, feeling like tearing it out. _Come on, get ahold of yourself. You're sister and second-in-command to the Dark Lord and can't afford to jeapordize everything for the sake of one puny Elf, though handsome he may be. _

She sighed again as she realized that she was only kidding herself. _I love him. He has made me question my deepest loyalties, and loving him goes against all that I've worked for all these centuries, but I can't bear the thought of his soul falling into darkness. I must do something about it, despite the fact that he probably hates me above all else right now._

***

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Love conquers all. No pain, lies, or physical separation can destroy it. I do not know what anger he holds in his heart for me, but I shall face it and bask in the cleansing light of judgement.


	3. Dark Recollections

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Part III: Dark Recollections

She betrayed me; she destroyed the Fellowship; she will bring about the destruction of Middle Earth. Yet, I love her, but a part of me hates her. These feelings for her are what keep me going; my love for her is like a warm, comforting flame in this bleak, cold darkness; my hate for her is like a blazing fire, lending me strength and will to fight…Though I do not know how much longer I can fight the darkness.

***

Mirkwood is burning to the ground. I run through the forest, looking for someone, anyone that I can save, but I am too late. The ground is littered in charred bodies, most of them unrecognizable. I feel a sudden fire in my chest, and look down to see an arrow going right through my body. The last sight I see before I fall into darkness is a horrid orc, staring down at me and laughing evilly.

I wake with Her standing over me, leering. I feel a sudden jolt of pain as she strikes me across the face. "Why?" I moan, as another jolt of pain courses through my now broken nose. "I thought you loved me," I whisper pitifully, my voice sounding weak to my own ears.

"Love?" she sneers. "I don't even know what love is. I serve Sauron, and Sauron alone. He wants you, and I shall help him get you." She smiles that beautiful smile of hers – which I now know is only a mask that hides the true evil underneath – as she approaches me with a poisoned dagger…

Legolas woke from his nightmare with a gasp, though nightmares like that weren't an uncommon thing in this hell. As he woke, chained to the wall, he couldn't help but look down at his battered and bloody body. Despite all the numerous wounds that had been inflicted on him, he only had a few cuts, and some faint scars, thanks to his Elvish healing abilities. As he watched some blood ooze out of a wound which had never healed, he couldn't help but remember the day he got that wound. _It was not so long ago, I know, yet it seems like another lifetime._

I hear a scream, a hobbit scream. "No!" I scream, as I turn towards the sound, as I run through the gauntlet of orcs towards them. I am hit many times, but still I press forward. I am too late though; I arrive just as Frodo, the last of the hobbits to die, breathes his last breath. His face is filled with so much pain and despair that it pierces my heart, and I savagely attack the orc that slew him, cutting off his head in a geyser of vile blood. 

As I battle the orcs, who surround me in a circle, I wonder where Kestryn is. She was supposed to be on watch, but she didn't raise the alarm and is nowhere to be found. A grain of suspicioun lodges painfully in my heart. 

I glance around as I fight, to try and ascertain how my remaining companions fare. I finally manage to get a glimpse through the ring of orcs, and what I see pierces my heart as surely as an arrow; Gimli, Aragorn, and Boromir are all dead. They are all slain, lying in the ground in pools of warm, red blood as orcs desecrate their bodies. As their heads are taken as trophies, I plunge into the throng of enemies, becoming like a wild animal at the sight of my friends' being dishonored so. 

Suddenly, I see her. She is standing off to the side, gazing at the scene impassively: she has betrayed us! I can't believe it. I love her, and I thought she loves me!! It was all a lie… My eyes project my pain and surprise as I stare at her for a moment, and that moment of hesitation costs me greatly as a deep line is drawn across my breast, right above my broken heart. I fight for several more minutes before the blood loss becomes too severe, and I slip into darkness as I feel the orcs beating and battering me. 

That had been several months ago, and that beating had only been the first of many. Almost every day he was tortured and taunted, in the hopes that he would give in and join Sauron. Almost as he thought about him, the doors opened and none other than Sauron walked in. 

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He was wearing a long, white robe that accentuated his pale complexion and made him seem almost angelic. As he smiled, his almost fang-like teeth glinted in the dim torchlight. 

"Hello Legolas," he purred. "Have you decided to reconsider my offer?"

"Never," Legolas spat.

"Well, we will have to do something about that, now won't we?"

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Yeah, I know I said I wouldn't update until I was done, but I lied ;)

Please read and review! I'm having a really hard time with this, so if not that many people wanna see more, I won't bother. If I get enough people wanting to read more, I'll try my best to finish it.

Also, I'd greatly appreciate it if some of you fellow Legolas angst writers can give me some pointers on how to draw out all the pain and misery. I've got the main parts of my story done, but everything seems to be moving way too fast; there's not enough emotional development…Basically, I know where I want my story to go, but I'm having trouble getting there.

Thanks! J 


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